April Computer Build Thread

[Logik]

So I've been itching to put together another desktop PC to expedite my return to gaming.  Over the past few days I've managed to reacquaint myself with most of the new hardware that's been released, and now I come before you all with a build.  I will attempt to detail some of the selections so that you can see my thought process, but comments and critiques are what I'm looking for.  The sharp-eyed will note that the case is notoriously absent.  I have a few in mind that I'll get into at the end of the post, but I'm also open to suggestions.

Without further ado:

Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $159.99(-$10.00 Instant)=$149.99
- After examining the differences between 790i, x48, x38, and p35, I've decided to go with the older technology.  Shocking, I know, but with the release of Nehalem being so close, I don't see the need to spend the extra money (~$300) for the privilege of buying into an evolutionary dead-end (with a minimal performance gain to boot).

Graphics: BFG Tech BFGE98512GTXOCXE GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - $354.99
- Should really speak for itself.  The lack of an nVidia chipset prevents me from going SLI, but this is a pretty decent price-point for such a powerful card.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - $199.99
- Another self-explanatory option.  Quad cores are attractive, but the exorbitant price tempers my desire in much the same way as a bucket of ice-water.

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF - $189.00(-$10.00 Instant)=$179.00
- 4GB of ddr2 goodness.  I'd get more, but I'm planning on running XP 32bit anyway.  This leaves me the option for another 2x2GB when I do decide to take the Vista plunge.
   
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $239.99(-$20.00 Instant)=$219.99
- 1 terabyte of space for 200 bones?  Sign me up!

PSU: OCZ EliteXStream 800W - $157.00
- Newegg is breaking my heart by not having this available, so this is the Amazon price.  I'm sure I can find a better quote after I shop around a bit.

Subtotal:    $1,260.96

Hopefully it's apparent in my parts selection, but the design philosophy behind this build is basically hedging my bets with regards to transitory technology (motherboard architecture, CPU, and RAM) by taking advantage of lower price-points while spending a little more on parts that should have more longevity (hard drive, graphics card, psu).

Finally, a few words about cases.  I like the design of Antec's P182, and they've certainly never steered me wrong before.  It's a shame that the model has been deactivated by NewEgg, but it's still definitely in the running.  Friends of mine have the Cooler Master Cosmos S and the Cooler Master RC-690-KKN11-GP and have nothing but good things to say.  Lian Li is another manufacturer I'm looking at, though their prices are--as is their wont--fairly high.

Anyone have suggestions?

[Trippy]

Antec Solo. Also the "sideways" hard drive cage in the RC-690-KKN11-GP is absolutely horrid for cooling.

[Engels]

Any reason this Lian Li woudln't be better than the Antec Solo? Price is the same, and it has one more 120mm fan at the front for HD cooling.

[Logik]

I should probably mention that I have an affinity for large, imposing black cases.

Trippy, why the hate for the RC690's cage?  Is it the single 120 or the fact that the drives would be stacked vertically?

[Trippy]

The hard drive cage is rotated 90 degrees. This makes for much much nicer installation (cables automatically tucked behind in cage, very easy to pull them in and out assuming they are on rails). However the "sidewalls" of the cage almost completely block air flow coming in (or out if you have a fan in front blowing that way) the front of the case.

[Trippy]

Any reason this Lian Li woudln't be better than the Antec Solo? Price is the same, and it has one more 120mm fan at the front for HD cooling.

The Solo has room for 2 front mount 92mm fans. It's also designed to be a "quiet' case. It has rubber grommets for hard drive mounting or you can use the suspension system for the ultimate in drive vibration noise reduction. It also has sound dampening panels.

[Trippy]

I should probably mention that I have an affinity for large, imposing black cases.

I'd go with the black P182 then but you'll need to make sure all your cables (in particular your power supply ones) are long enough to handle the "flipped" internal layout.

[Miasma]

I love my P182.

Be sure to connect the audio/lights etc to the motherboard first or you will never get to them after the power cables are in.

[Sky]

I've got the P180 and I love it. But I'll echo the statement about making sure your cables are long enough. It does have a fairly adaptable interior, though. I moving the bottom fan to allow room for my large PSU and removing the upper drive cage to allow an intake fan there. I'm guessing from Trippy's definition that the Solo is the next in that series.

My case is almost silent, a gentle whir, but I defeat that with my factory overclocked 8800gtx because I crank the gpu fan.

[Trippy]

No the Solo is a traditional ATX case with the power supply at the top -- it's just a really nicely designed one (I have the P150 which they no longer make but has the same features).

[Bandit]

I should probably mention that I have an affinity for large, imposing black cases.

I am putting a new rig together myself at the moment, so I thought I would drop a shit load on the case - probably not needing to replace it anytime soon.  So if you want a beautiful and imposing black case in which a small child could live in...Silverstone Temjin TJ09.  This pic is of the silver one (obviously), but its the only one I could find which provided a bit of scale:



For the money for these cases, it should come with the girl.  But the case is pure craftsmanship.

I recently just picked up the Samsung F1 Spinpoint myself.  I am agonizing over MB at the moment. 

From my research the Intel Q6600 is a great deal for a processor, and very overclockable.

[Engels]

here's some more pics of that Silverstone case.

I like the isolation of the hard drives, with the air intakes on the side bypassing any heat generated in that area. It looks great in theory, anyway.

[Trippy]

More rotated drive cages blocking air flow across the drives. That mid fan may also interfere with really long video cards.

[Bandit]

No problem fitting in video cards at all, the only problem I have had with the mid-fan is cabling around it a bit - workable but not ideal. I went black, without the window in the panel.  I want the case to look sleek, and not like a midway attraction with flashing lights and LEDs.  I did pick up a bit of bling for it though;

Kikbox laser cut 120mm fan grill


Kikbox laser cut dual-120mm fan grill for the top vent.


Bad ass.

[Trippy]

You do realize that top skull is blocking quite a bit of air flow right?

[Bandit]

Yup, thanks.  I stuffed a dual radiator (thermochill) up top for water-cooling, ran it all with some older components (which run quite a bit hotter than alot of the newer stuff) and my ambient temps were great.

EDIT: If you are thinking of water-cooling, this case is NOT ideal....had quite a few issues modding the case to fit the radiator.  The TJO7 is apparently much better for this.

[Salamok]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - $199.99
- Another self-explanatory option.  Quad cores are attractive, but the exorbitant price tempers my desire in much the same way as a bucket of ice-water.

Seems like I just read an article about Intel slashing quad core pricing in half this week.  I think it had a quad priced at $269.

edit: I remembered correctly
http://www.pricewatch.com/microprocessors/core_2_quad_q9300.htm

[Lantyssa]

I'm starting to think about building new systems for myself and the roommate.  It's been years since I've done this though.

Is it still ideal to match the CPU/FSB and memory speeds?  The current multiples seem to be 1333 and 1066.  Are there other common ones I should be aware of?

[Sky]

I've got 1066 memory running at 800 to lower the latencies. Always wondered if I should bump up the bus at the cost of latency (4-4-4-whatever to 5-5-5-whatever).

[Merusk]

Oh hay.. I was just wondering about sum pc stuffs.

I'm looking to upgrade the vid card.  It's a 512mb nVidia 7300 LE right now. I skimped when I bought the machine last year for two reasons.  1) I was, fully expecting to upgrade eventually  and 2) I foresee the end (or at least a long hiatus) of my PC gaming career within the next 3-5 years and I wasn't expecting any games to come along that I'd REALLY want to play and not care about the crappy frame rates for another year or so.  Of course that's changed. 

So!  Without needing or want to drop the dough on a $300 vid card, wtf are the "good" upgrades? I'm thinking of only looking to spend about $160ish and considering the 8600 series but I'm not sure it's a decent enough step-up. Any other suggestions?

[MisterNoisy]

Oh hay.. I was just wondering about sum pc stuffs.

I'm looking to upgrade the vid card.  It's a 512mb nVidia 7300 LE right now. I skimped when I bought the machine last year for two reasons.  1) I was, fully expecting to upgrade eventually  and 2) I foresee the end (or at least a long hiatus) of my PC gaming career within the next 3-5 years and I wasn't expecting any games to come along that I'd REALLY want to play and not care about the crappy frame rates for another year or so.  Of course that's changed. 

So!  Without needing or want to drop the dough on a $300 vid card, wtf are the "good" upgrades? I'm thinking of only looking to spend about $160ish and considering the 8600 series but I'm not sure it's a decent enough step-up. Any other suggestions?

512MB 8800GTs are going for well under $200 at NewEgg.

$180

If you're willing to buy open box parts, there's a couple as low as $160.

[Trippy]

I'm starting to think about building new systems for myself and the roommate.  It's been years since I've done this though.

Is it still ideal to match the CPU/FSB and memory speeds?  The current multiples seem to be 1333 and 1066.  Are there other common ones I should be aware of?

Memory doesn't need to match (and most MBs wouldn't even be able to handle the memory at 1333 MHz). CPU and FSB should.

[Fabricated]

Lian-Li's cases are nice and everything but being so light they tend to rattle if you end up putting a lot of cooling in them. Also that shit dents easily.

[SnakeCharmer]

If someone could point me to a case that was:

a)  Basic black
b)  Sturdy
c)  Has lots of fan slots
d)  No power supply
e)  Didn't have a clear side, no LEDs
f)  Didn't cost more than my processor

I'd be all over that.  My cheapo Rosewill tower is getting a bit long in the tooth, and has less than ideal airflow.

[Trippy]

Use Newegg's Power Search feature.

[Logik]

I've just seen the Silverstone TJ10B-WESA and I don't think I'll be able to help myself.  If no one voices any objections, I will be pulling the trigger on the setup tonight.

Final question: good CPU coolers that are decently quiet?

[Trippy]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

Assuming it fits.

[Logik]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

Assuming it fits.

Thanks, Trippy.  You'll be able to hear my curse from LEO if it doesn't fit in that case.

[Numtini]

While we're here, is there any reason in the world to get a sound card if you don't want 100 speaker all digital audio or any of that other stuff? I have Realtek HD on the motherboard and I'm perfectly satisfied, but is it eating CPU cycles or anything weird like that?

e)  Didn't have a clear side, no LEDs

Amen. I built my partner and I new PCs. I used the cheapie NewEgg case of the day--the Smilodon. The cases are quite functional, lots of fans, easy access. But we're two not quite middle aged women living in a quiet cottage on Cape Cod feeling ridiculous because we have cases with a ludicrous front panel that glow blue in the dark from the side and were clearly aimed at 12 year old boys.

[Trippy]

I have Realtek HD on the motherboard and I'm perfectly satisfied, but is it eating CPU cycles or anything.

It might be. Hard to know without digging up some benchmarks and comparing it to sound cards with onboard sound acceleration/more powerful sound processors. Also you might be missing out on certain 3D sound formats that games support.

[Sky]

But we're two not quite middle aged women feeling in a quiet cottage on Cape Cod

PIXPLZ

 

[Numtini]

But we're two not quite middle aged women feeling in a quiet cottage on Cape Cod

PIXPLZ

 

 I think I'll edit the post instead.

[Mrbloodworth]

I just bought this (like last Sunday), and put it together (last night). I think i did a good job, even if im not really a hardware junky (more of a software and tools kinda junky)


Item List

• VGA EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR 8800GT 512M - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$189.99)
• CASE SIGMA|LA VIE LBNWBP 500W RTL - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$69.99)
• DVD ROM LITE-ON|DH-16D2S-04 SATA % - OEM (Qty=1, Price=$17.99)
• MB ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP P35 775 RT - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$149.99)
• CPU INTEL|C2Q Q6600 2.40G 775 8M R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$239.99)
• MEM 2Gx2|GSK F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$144.99)
• MNTR HANNSG|LCD 19" 5MS JW-199DPB R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$169.99)

Subtotal: 982.93

Shipping was about +40$ , my intended budget was under 1k, and to fully replace my old system (a 7-8 year old, once top end gamming Dell), i have about 60$ in mail in rebates.

I think i did good, and its got leather  [/list]

[Engels]

After all that and you buy a 19 inch widescreen? Why not a bit more for a 22 or some such? Seems a waste after building such a nice rig.

Otherwise, seems like a good economic buy. Not sure about the memory, tho. Not heard of the brand and I tend to shy away from any but the 'big three', crucial, corsair and kingston.

[Sky]

I think I'll edit the post instead.

 

After all that and you buy a 19 inch widescreen? Why not a bit more for a 61 or some such? Seems a waste after building such a nice rig.

FIFY!